PGA DFS Core Plays: RBC Canadian Open
Top-ranked DFS player, Notorious, breaks down his favorite PGA DFS picks at various salary ranges for this week’s tournament. Who should you be building around? Find out below.
The Memorial Tournament provided a great finish and I thought we were on the ball in terms of the picks. Between the core plays and the conviction plays, seven of the eight picks finished in the top 30 and four of the picks finished in the top 10. We didn’t hit an outright with the golf bets, but did cash two of the three placement parlays for another profitable week. The only negative last week was having no exposure to Viktor Hovland on my main lineup or on the betting card. However, I was happy to see him pick up his biggest win to date. By all accounts, he seems like an awesome person. He even caddied for his former college teammate on Monday at the U.S. Open qualifier.
We now turn our attention to the RBC Canadian Open. This is the week before the U.S. Open and most of the final qualifiers for the major took place on Monday afternoon. This is why we are already seeing a number of withdrawals from the RBC Canadian Open. A few that managed to qualify for the U.S. Open have decided to skip this event and prep for the bigger event next week. if you were planning to roster Luke List, Sam Stevens, Sam Ryder, or Byeong Hun An this week, you’ll have to make other arrangements.
Oakdale Golf and Country Club is going to host the event this year and anytime we have a first time course, it’s always a guessing game on how it will play. The last four Canadian Opens had winning scores of at least 19-under par and based on early reports about this course, that trend should continue this week. Oakdale has three different nine-hole courses and they will use a combination of all three for this event. The scorecard reads as a Par 72 that measures 7,264 yards. Unlike most Par 72 courses that we see on tour, this one only features three par fives and three par threes.
This course is short by PGA Tour standards and the only real defense on paper is the thick rough. We are expecting 4-to-5 inches of rough this week, which is some of the longest that we’ll see on tour all season. However, the lack of length will lead to many clubbing down off the tee in order to prioritize hitting fairways. At least, that’s what I am assuming. There’s always the chance a few of the longer hitters try to get aggressive off the tee and try to drive a few of these greens. Regardless, most birdie-fests come down to who can hit their irons the best and who can hole the most putts.
The greens themselves are undulating and aren’t overly large (6,000 square feet on average). For the fifth straight week, golfers will be putting on bentgrass greens (although there’s about 20% poa annua in the mix as well). Given the fact that we are all guessing how the course is going to play, I don’t mind pairing together similar skill sets this week — making one lineup full of bombers, making one lineup full of accuracy players, making one lineup full of elite putters, etc. I plan to read as many player quotes as possible this week, so I might include an update here on Wednesday if my thoughts change at all.
PGA DFS Picks: DraftKings & FanDuel Core Plays for the RBC Canadian Open
Field Breakdown Video & Model Download Link for the RBC Canadian Open
Field Size:
- 156 golfers
Cut Rule:
- Top 65 and ties move on after the first two rounds
Weather Forecasts
- Kevin Roth’s forecast (link coming soon)
- Windfinder
- Weather Channel
Golf Course
- Oakdale Golf and Country Club
- Location: Toronto, Canada
- Last four winners of Candian Open: -19, -22, -23, -21
- Par 72 — 7,264 yards
- Unique Par 72 layout with only three par fives and three par threes
- Green type : bentgrass 80% / poa annua 20%
- Green size: 6,000 square feet on average
- Rough length: 4-5 inches
Course Notes
- First time we’ve seen this course on tour, so we don’t have any course history
- The fairways are tree-lined and undulating
- Given the length of the course and thickness of rough, accuracy should be a premium
- All three par fives should provide scoring opportunities — 590, 553, and 498 yards
- We typically see this event turn into a birdie-fest, so I’m expecting at least 20-under to win
What to Look For
- Strokes Gained Approach
- Total Driving
- Birdie or Better %
- Strokes Gained Putting (Emphasis on Bent/Poa)
Core Plays
Tyrrell Hatton
DK: $10,200 — FD: $11,800
Total Driving — 12
SG: APP — 15
BOB% — 4
SG: ATG — 28
SG: Putting (Bent) — 11
Noto’s Rating — 93.1
